Let's not succumb quite yet to fearmongering triggered by the prospects of
a delayed start to corn planting in 2013. “Mudding in” a crop early to avoid
planting late will almost always end up being an unwise decision. While important,
planting date is only one of many yield-influencing factors for corn.
Another reason that it is probably too early to fearmonger about the anticipated
late start to planting is that growers have the machinery capacity to "catch
up" quickly once the weather and soil conditions become favorable for
planting. The 1992 planting season began as one of the slowest but
quickly recovered within two weeks to a respectable pace and finished
the season with the largest POSITIVE departure from trend yield in the past
20 years. We also know from past years' experiences that, on average, 50%
of a state's corn crop is typically planted over about an 21-day period. Furthermore, it is not unheard of for growers to plant 45 to 50%
of a state's crop in a single week given good working condition.